Giants' Will Blackmon returns to the NFL feeling healthy

Chris Faytok/The Star-LedgerWill Blackmon returns a kickoff last season for the Giants.

Will Blackmon knew his NFL career wasn’t over.

It’s just that he was starting to think it wouldn’t include the 2011 season.

“Shoot, it’s November, dude. Yeah,” the newest Giant said the other day when asked if he thought he wouldn’t be signed this year. “I knew I was going to play again. It was a matter of stressing: ‘Am I going to play this year?’”

The answer, thanks to the Giants, is yes.

The sixth-year veteran cornerback, a former fourth-round pick of the Green Bay Packers, was signed last week when the team placed corner Michael Coe on injured reserve with a shoulder issue that required surgery.

In tonight’s 49-24 loss to the New Orleans Saints, Blackmon played on special teams. When Aaron Ross muffed a punt in the second quarter, Blackmon batted the loose ball away from the Saints, helping the Giants’ Prince Amukamara recover.

Blackmon was with the Giants for five games last year before landing on IR with lingering complications from surgery to repair a torn anterior cruciate ligament suffered while he was with Green Bay in 2009.

Last season, though he was signed after an apparently impressive workout in October, Blackmon said he never felt completely healthy. He couldn’t figure out why his knee wasn’t right until Giants team physician Russ Warren discovered the issue.

“Dr. Warren could see it didn’t fuse properly,” Blackmon said. “So he recommended I actually go get it redone.”

Blackmon underwent another procedure in January to fix the issue. He began rehabbing in California with trainer Gavin MacMillan of Sport Science Lab and was quickly pleased with the progress he made.

Blackmon had only one workout — with the Giants during their bye week last month — but had a few others set up in the coming weeks. He wouldn’t need them, as the Giants called after Coe’s injury. (Coe was the fifth key contributor at corner to land on IR this season.)

“This is the best I’ve felt in two years,” said Blackmon, who has played only one 16-game season in his career. “I’ve been blessed to be here and be around such great people to help me out.”

“You just try to avoid all the negative stuff that goes on in your head,” he said. “I put myself around great people, a great trainer who’s now my best friend and my wife, who’s my biggest supporter in everything. Here I am back again.”

Blackmon had 14 punt returns for the Giants last year and averaged 6.7 yards per return. On 13 kick returns, he averaged 18.3 yards. Earlier in his career, Blackmon was much more dangerous with the ball. In 2007, he averaged 13.3 yards per punt return and in 2006, he averaged 11.1 yards. In those two seasons, combined, he had three touchdowns.

Both of the return jobs are filled right now for the Giants, but Blackmon could have an impact there. Aaron Ross has been dealing with a quad issue that’s forced the Giants to slip Victor Cruz in as punt returner. Perhaps Blackmon could also provide relief there. And there’s always the chance he could chip in to help a thin secondary down the line.

Regardless of how it plays out, Blackmon is simply pleased to be back with a team he feels he got to know in only two short months last year.

“I just think it’s a top-class organization, from the top down,” he said. “Good people inside the locker room and around.”